Colorado Plane Crash Probe Focuses Crosswinds
WASHINGTON (AP) - Strong crosswinds are the focus of an investigation into why an airliner with 110 passengers ran off a runway in Denver while trying to take off a year and a half ago.
Actions by an air traffic controller and the flight’s captain are also being questioned
The National Transportation Safety Board meets Tuesday to determine the cause of the Dec. 20, 2008, accident. The Continental Airlines Boeing 737 veered off a runway, hurtled across a field and crashed into a ditch, where it caught fire. No one was killed but the plane was destroyed.
Continental says an air traffic controller failed to warn the pilots of high winds recorded just before takeoff.
The plane’s manufacturer says the captain didn’t correctly compensate for the wind.